|
Living the Church Year
Going to Mass at our parish on Easter Sunday is an energizing experience. The pews are packed, there is overflow seating in the narthex and many new faces intermingle with the usual parishioners. Friends and family join in along with newcomers and folks who might be coming back to the faith. We cram together, friends and strangers, to offer our thanks and praise – Alleluia, He has risen! The joy is palpable.
Throughout the year, it is easy to forget that we are an Easter people. We Catholics can sometimes seem like a stern and serious lot, but the Resurrection is at the very heart of who we are and what we believe. Living a Christian life means living a joyful life. While daily life is not always easy, Christ exemplifies joyful living even in the midst of challenges. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:11) May your parish ministry be blessed with Easter joy this season and beyond!
Blessings,
Heidi Busse
|
|
|
|
A Real Easter “Egg”
In the gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is the first to bear witness to Christ’s resurrection on Easter morning. According to the ancient tradition of the East, after the Ascension, Mary then journeyed to Rome where she was admitted into the court of Tiberius Caesar. After describing how poorly Pilate had administered justice at Jesus’ trial, she told Caesar that Jesus had risen from the dead. To help explain the resurrection, she picked up an egg from the table. Caesar responded that a human being could no more rise from the dead than the egg in her hand turn red. The egg turned red immediately which is why red eggs have been exchanged at Easter for centuries in the Byzantine East.
Be sure to include some red eggs this Easter as a sign of Christ’s resurrection and Mary’s witness to the Risen Lord.
|
|
|
|
One Woman Brings Faith to the Faithless
Ever since Ukrainian-born Valentyna Pavsyukova found the Faith, she has worked to bring it to others
by Christopher Ruff
The story behind Chalice of Mercy exemplifies how God uses the little and the humble to do his work. Pavsyukova left her homeland for Medford, Wis., in 2002, at the age of 18. Her name had been picked in the U.S. Government Green Card Lottery in which her mother had entered her the year before without telling her.
Arriving in Medford with a cosmetology license but almost no English skills, Pavsyukova stayed with a Ukrainian couple and found her first job at Black River Industries, which provides employment and training for people with disabilities. The work immediately affected her.
Read the rest of the article from the April 6, 2014, issue of OSV Newsweekly
|
|
|
|
Getting to the Core
Common Core State Standards have made headlines across the country. How do they affect Catholic schools?
by Brian Fraga
For decades, public, private and Catholic schools have relied on standards to craft curriculum and measure student achievement. In several instances, Catholic schools have taken the states’ public school educational standards and adapted them to reflect their Catholic values.
“For our schools to not be aware of what the public school academic standards are, to not be familiar with where our students need to be, that would be irresponsible. In fact, I don’t think parents would expect us to not be aware of those things,” said Sister John Mary Fleming, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Catholic Education.
From the March 30, 2014, issue of OSV Newsweekly. Read it all here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 4 - St. Isidore
April 13 - Palm Sunday
April 17 - Holy Thursday
April 18 - Good Friday
April 20 - Easter Sunday
April 25 - St. Mark
More about these saints and feasts
|
|
|
|
|
For questions or comments about this enewsletter please contact:
[email protected] (editorial) or [email protected] (technical)
For additional assistance contact us toll-free at 1-800-348-2440 or at the address below.
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington, IN 46750, USA.
© 2014 Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. |
|
|